Bonus battles: Disgruntled bankers threaten to sue or walk

Wall Street bankers are fuming about the prospect of paltry payouts come bonus time — and plan to go nuclear.

They’re taking their cues from their disgruntled brethren in London, who are eyeing lawsuits to regain their over-the-top pay. Here at Jefferies Group, a group of brokerage executives reportedly threatened management that they would walk away from the firm if their year-end compensation was not up to par with The Street.

This hubris is just the beginning of much more to come as the downtrodden banking industry gets ready to dole out the most meager bonuses since the 2008 financial crisis.

Big banks are hoarding some of their bonus pools in anticipation of complaints. And being proactive seems to be the plan.